Some recently developed cotton pickers roll and wrap cotton into a cylindrically-shaped module, hereafter referred to as a “round module,” as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. This is done inside the picking machine as the cotton is picked in the field. One such picking machine is the CP690 Cotton Picker manufactured by Deere & Company, Moline, Ill., 61265. A typical round cotton module 10 can measure 7 to 8 feet in diameter, approximately 8 feet in length, and weigh approximately 7,000 pounds. A wrap 20 extends between the end faces 12 of the round module 10 and terminates at a tail 24, covering the cylindrical side surface of the module so as to prevent contamination, wetting and soiling of the cotton when the round module is placed on the ground by the picking machine for retrieval by a truck or other module mover. Typically, the picking machine can store one wrapped round module 10 as it makes another. This enables the farmer to pick cotton for the second module without having to stop so that the previously wrapped round module can be dropped off at the edge of the field. The new cotton pickers eliminate up to three pieces of equipment when compared to previous methods of baling cotton, and the labor to operate them. For example, previous methods of baling cotton typically required a rectangular module builder, a bowl buggy and a tractor. However, even with the noted advantages, many cotton gins are not presently configured to process round modules. Specifically, wraps 20 on the round cotton modules are manually removed by workers, increasing labor costs. As well, it is not uncommon for portions of the wraps to be inadvertently left on the round modules, meaning that portions of the plastic wraps can enter the cotton gin, thereby contaminating the cotton.
Currently, feeders for cotton gins are supplied in three basic types: roller bed, moving chain and walking floor. Typical roller bed and moving chain type feeders have beds that are 60 to 80 feet in length. The beds are often divided into three sections so that modules can be loaded on one end and caught up to any previously loaded modules. Sections of the bed are simply turned on and off as needed to butt modules end to end before entering the dispersing head of the cotton gin, which is located at the opposite end of the feeder bed from where the bales are loaded. The walking floor type of feeder does not have the ability to catch-up modules, therefore trucks must unload modules by backing onto the moving floor. Trucks must butt modules together during the unloading for efficient ginning Preferably, wraps 20 would be recovered from the round modules 10 prior to the modules being placed on the feeder bed for the gin.
The present invention recognizes and addresses considerations of prior art constructions and methods.